Persistent abnormal liver fibrosis after weaning off parenteral nutrition in pediatric intestinal failure

Annika Mutanen, Jouko Lohi, Päivi Heikkilä, Antti I. Koivusalo, Risto J. Rintala, Mikko P. Pakarinen – 4 March 2013 – The aim of this study was to evaluate the long‐term effects of pediatric intestinal failure (IF) on liver histology. Altogether, 38 IF patients (median age: 7.2 years; range, 0.2‐27) underwent liver biopsy, gastroscopy, abdominal ultrasound, and laboratory tests. Sixteen patients were on parenteral nutrition (PN) after 74 PN months (range, 2.5‐204). Twenty‐two had weaned off PN 8.8 years (range, 0.3‐27) earlier, after 35 PN months (range, 0.7‐250).

Potential consequences of healthcare recommendations: A focus on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Rohit Satoskar, Nancy Reau – 4 March 2013 – Healthcare guidelines and recommendations have broad‐reaching impact. They serve as the evidence to enforce medical testing by establishing a bar for standard of care through their intrinsic credibility but also by affecting reimbursement. In this article, we discuss the various organizations in the United States that develop healthcare policy and guidelines. We focus on the recent recommendations for hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening put forward by these agencies and the potential effect of these documents.

C‐C motif chemokine receptor 9 positive macrophages activate hepatic stellate cells and promote liver fibrosis in mice

Po‐sung Chu, Nobuhiro Nakamoto, Hirotoshi Ebinuma, Shingo Usui, Keita Saeki, Atsuhiro Matsumoto, Yohei Mikami, Kazuo Sugiyama, Kengo Tomita, Takanori Kanai, Hidetsugu Saito, Toshifumi Hibi – 4 March 2013 – Chemokine receptors mediate migration of immune cells into the liver, thereby promoting liver inflammation. C‐C motif chemokine receptor (CCR) 9+ macrophages are crucial in the pathogenesis of acute liver inflammation, but the role and underlying mechanisms of this macrophage subset in chronic liver injury and subsequent liver fibrosis are not fully understood.

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